To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!

Show your new tool arrivals

MooseCustomMotors

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 14, 2022
Messages
84
Today was Snap On Monday. Got my favorite 3/8’s ratchet repaired, which broke this morning, very thankful it happened on a Monday for ease of repair. I’ve used this ratchet on just about every job I’ve done in the last 4 years or so and it got its 1st rebuild.

While I was at it I ordered a back up, just sadly in soft grip as they don’t have that one in the hard handle anymore.

Also picked up a 11mm hex bit socket. My set went 10 to 12 and ended up having to use a 7/16 on a Land Rover caliper slide bolt the other day. 11 would have made it a little easier.
 
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!

mikegt4

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 12, 2005
Messages
3,271
Location
sw ohio
I don't get the I hate 12pt. socket thing. I've used a lot of 12pt. sockets with good results. I think all my early Craftsman metric sockets I used on my first VW Bug were 12pt.I'm not sure at the time they even had 6pt. metric sockets. No one seems to hate using the 12pt. box end on a wrench. With most sockets having an "off corner" type design the 12pt. would be ever better than some of the early 6pt. sockets.
I don't get it either, most of my sockets are 12pt and most I bought 50 years ago and they still work fine. If it looks like I need to use a 6pt (stuck bolt or the use of an impact) then I do go that route without hesitation. One has to put things in context to understand.

50 years ago 12pt was the PRO line and 6pt was the "old school" line. Ratchets of 24T were the norm, a 36T ratchet was the fine tooth model. Since you only had 24T on the ratchet you used the 12pts of the socket as the way to get on bolt heads in tighter places. Today's ratchets are of course a much finer teeth count which generally negates the need for 12pt sockets except for places like the special bolts such as on aircraft engines. If you don't want or need a 12pt then don't buy it. Same for 8pt sockets of which I have several sets from people who didn't want them. They work great for taps and other square drive applications like pipe plugs. Yeah, I know I could have used a 12pt for that.
 

bubinga

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 26, 2014
Messages
12,744
Location
Bridgeport Ohio. (Across River From Wheeling WV)
So, now I have my new floor jack.
I need a puck for lifting a unibody.
Seems like everyone and their brother has some variant.
Anyone have a recommendation on a decent one?

Thanks.

1678683302726.png
I just took about a 6-inch length of 2x4, and cut a kerf in it,
Across the short section of the 6-in long 2x4, in other words perpendicular to the grain.
I made the slot just slightly wider than a single width kerf of my table saw blade.
I put that on the jack pad, with the kerf capturing the pinch weld. It worked well.
 

Fly YX

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 31, 2017
Messages
1,418
So you feel the Milwaukee hand tools are pretty good quality these days?
Are they made in taiwan?
Good enough for a field box. I normally get Wright sockets. They should be coming out with a lot more hand tools made in the USA in a few months. I had an interview with Tti at the Milwaukee/brookfield facility. It was pretty cool what they are doing hopefully it will work out. I think packaging said made in China.
 

ZRX61

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 15, 2006
Messages
28,716
Location
Solar Blight Valley, SoCal
Would you recommend that Irwin set over the Icon set?

I like that Irwin is at least Made in the USA (w global materials).
Didn't even consider the HF version. Not an Icon fan, ergo's look all fuckered up on every tool I've picked up. (altho tbf, I have the same opinion on a lot of Snappy stuff, especially the wrenches)
 

mikeinri

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 29, 2019
Messages
8,240
Location
MA
Long overdue...

IMG_20230313_153434599.jpg

IMG_20230313_153446927.jpg

Amazon. $64 for the Irwin set (which has already paid for itself during a 5 minute job this afternoon) & $85 for the RocketSockets. $164 total with tax.

Didn't even consider the HF version. Not an Icon fan, ergo's look all fuckered up on every tool I've picked up. (altho tbf, I have the same opinion on a lot of Snappy stuff, especially the wrenches)

Thanks, now I need to buy those! I like Irwin tools (at least USA ones), and those look much nicer than this Kobalt set I bought last year.

20220205_173807.jpg

Can't complain, the Kobalt set was cheap, in stock locally at Lowe's, and got a difficult plumbing job done (at home, with a wife and two kids, all very unhappy with the water turned off for so long).

Saved me several hundred dollars (vs. an emergency call to a plumber). Symmons Temptrol shower valve seat was frozen in the valve body.

20220205_164539.jpg20220205_173715.jpg

The Kobalts are intended for plumbing, so I'd assume soft materials (like this brass part, copper, etc.). Not sure that I'd try using them as screw extractors like Irwin claims.

What was the job you needed the Irwins for?

Mike
 

ZRX61

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 15, 2006
Messages
28,716
Location
Solar Blight Valley, SoCal
What was the job you needed the Irwins for?

Mike
We had a *plumber* in a while back to fix a dripping shower. He couldn't remove the valves because he didn't know righty tighty/lefty loosy*. While he was making a complete *** of the job he managed to tighten the valve cover doohickey onto the valve & jam the jam nut into the cover.
Luckily he went off to buy a new valve** (after digging out the packing washer in the valve with a screwdriver) & while he was gone I removed both valves, changed out the washers & got the drip fixed.
Needed the Irwin to get the jam nut out of the cover... which also involved using those spiffy Japanese soft-jaw slip joint pliers I bought a couple of weeks back.

* At one point his helper said "no turn it the other way" so this specimen turned his ChannelLocks from the jaws facing left to facing right & continued to tighten the valve... I had to walk away.

** He was gone for 5 hours, Lowes is 2 miles away. Roomie called his gf (her hairdresser) & she couldn't get hold of him either. He eventually showed up with a new packing washer & said he'd been to another job about 25 miles to the North in the next county & then onto another job in the next town to the South about 10 miles away before coming back with the part he unnecessarily destroyed... So there's a good chance he fucked up three separate jobs in one afternoon across two counties.

The reason he was called in is because I'm dealing with a separated bone graft in my right wrist so can't get too carried away turning things.. & yet I still got the job done while he was AWOL. Actually bent an 18 x 3/8in piece of round steel bar in the valve socket undoing the valve he spent 10 minutes trying to *loosen*.

Anywho, even though the washers were changed & the drip fixed, the valves still aren't *right* & two new ones will be fitted in the next few hours/two weeks (depending on when I decide to turn the water off for a few minutes)
 

Squankum

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 28, 2011
Messages
7,721
Location
Southeast
** He was gone for 5 hours, Lowes is 2 miles away. Roomie called his gf (her hairdresser) & she couldn't get hold of him either. He eventually showed up with a new packing washer & said he'd been to another job about 25 miles to the North in the next county & then onto another job in the next town to the South about 10 miles away before coming back with the part he unnecessarily destroyed... So there's a good chance he fucked up three separate jobs in one afternoon across two counties.

That, or his sense of driving direction is the same as his wrench turning.

Or, really, he was just off smoking crack at the crackhouse.

I'm old. I don't know if people still do that. Is that what the kids do no? Run around, snort cocaine, and overtighten plumbing fixtures?
 
Last edited:

Blue Chips

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 25, 2012
Messages
199
Location
Maine
I picked up about a dozen odds and ends on our little trip to the Liberty Tool Company in Liberty, ME on Sunday, which I'm sure must be familiar to a number of folks on this forum. Anyway, I thought a few of those items might be worth posting.

For starters, here's a vintage J. T. Slocomb 1-to-2-inch micrometer. I paid $8.50 for it, and other than some worn paint, it was in near-mint condition. It was smooth and snug all the way through its range, and the clever little thread wear compensator feature (which appears to be described in their 1896 patent), was still on its original setting, with no apparent play in the threads.

I carefully cleaned, stripped, and repainted it, then lubed it and checked it against a 1" gauge block at stabilized room temperature. It was still right on the money, so no need to get out the little spanner wrench to adjust it. I'm not sure of its age, but from a few catalogs I found, I 'think' it was probably made somewhere between 1903 and 1914. It also has their friction-stop feature to limit the pressure that can be applied to the anvil or work.

micrometer-1-2-inch-smaller-image.jpg

You can't have too many micrometers, can you? :rolleyes:

1896 Patent: https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/pdfs/US559820.pdf
 

ZRX61

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 15, 2006
Messages
28,716
Location
Solar Blight Valley, SoCal
That, or his sense of driving direction is the same as his wrench turning.

Or, really, he was just off smoking crack at the crackhouse.

I'm old. I don't know if people still do that. Is that what the kids do no? Run around, snort cocaine, and overtighten plumbing fixtures?
When he first showed up (at 1pm) I thought he may have just come from the bar as he seemed a bit impaired.
 

Squankum

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 28, 2011
Messages
7,721
Location
Southeast
I think you will like those. I love my O-ring pick set.

I love mine*, too. Like the "wee pocket pry bar" frenzy that broke out here at GJ lately, handy for all sorts of things! I put three of mine in an out of the way drawer, and one of them in my "Fiddly Little Tools" drawer where I grab it for all sorts of things. Sometimes even an O-ring!

Last project I did, I removed the O-ring seal from a Mag-Hytec differential cover, then looked at the directions for a torque spec, and saw them warning the customer, oh no! Do not remove this O-ring! You'll damage it! Well, I have an O-ring pick, so I give no cares, old man!

1678829444825.png


____
* Mine = Mayhew, but really "Cats Paw", and made in Taiwan.
 
Last edited:
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!

BlakeTheCarGuy

ALLIANCE MEMBER
Joined
Oct 10, 2018
Messages
9,373
Location
Roanoke Virginia
F3DB3945-A020-4C86-AE45-190B2270395F.jpeg65F0D6C3-319B-498E-8BB6-8AC93D5FC4F0.jpegE9E0338E-4EC0-4AF6-B3C1-A3B7AAC85923.jpeg4DB81168-58C4-4377-BA6B-99B603419A3C.jpeg
F47D6D7E-2CB1-4F4F-B020-CAD8A8899C63.jpeg
Nice little haul today. All waiting on me when I got home. First up it’s a SP Tools 13500 pulley holding tool for Toyota. Bought this to hold the pulley on the Camry so the bolts don’t come loose again. Then a set of Capri metric low profile impact sockets 1/2 drive. I got these because they are handy but also because I feel the stubby 19 will help with the belt tensioner and give me more access to work with when putting the belt on as it was a pain last time. The 18mm wrench I got just to have as I don’t have many 18mm anything lol. And the Escape will need some suspension work soon so I will need that and I always like to have an extra and I only found one at the house that I had except a ratchet wrench so I picked up an extra one to have plus I’ve wanted to try Capri wrenches. Then a 8 triple square for when I work on the Beetle this summer hopefully. Hopefully it will be up and running by then. You need the 8 triple square to take the CV axles off. And mine need to be at minimum rebooted but I’m probably going to replace them. I’ve had amazing luck with Capri bit sockets so buying this one gave no second thought. Very well made.

Next specialty tool I’m purchasing will be a ball joint press. I mainly need it for my Escape but will do good for work too. If anyone has any brand recommendations for that let me know. Not sure what to look for.
 

Buckgnarly

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 8, 2010
Messages
7,653
Location
VT
F3DB3945-A020-4C86-AE45-190B2270395F.jpeg65F0D6C3-319B-498E-8BB6-8AC93D5FC4F0.jpegE9E0338E-4EC0-4AF6-B3C1-A3B7AAC85923.jpeg4DB81168-58C4-4377-BA6B-99B603419A3C.jpeg
F47D6D7E-2CB1-4F4F-B020-CAD8A8899C63.jpeg
Nice little haul today. All waiting on me when I got home. First up it’s a SP Tools 13500 pulley holding tool for Toyota. Bought this to hold the pulley on the Camry so the bolts don’t come loose again. Then a set of Capri metric low profile impact sockets 1/2 drive. I got these because they are handy but also because I feel the stubby 19 will help with the belt tensioner and give me more access to work with when putting the belt on as it was a pain last time. The 18mm wrench I got just to have as I don’t have many 18mm anything lol. And the Escape will need some suspension work soon so I will need that and I always like to have an extra and I only found one at the house that I had except a ratchet wrench so I picked up an extra one to have plus I’ve wanted to try Capri wrenches. Then a 8 triple square for when I work on the Beetle this summer hopefully. Hopefully it will be up and running by then. You need the 8 triple square to take the CV axles off. And mine need to be at minimum rebooted but I’m probably going to replace them. I’ve had amazing luck with Capri bit sockets so buying this one gave no second thought. Very well made.

Next specialty tool I’m purchasing will be a ball joint press. I mainly need it for my Escape but will do good for work too. If anyone has any brand recommendations for that let me know. Not sure what to look for.

If you can swing the cost, Snap On BJP1. Bang for buck, Astro. I have both of those and and happy eith both. I would love to try the Matco one, might grab it some day with my discount.
 

MooseCustomMotors

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 14, 2022
Messages
84
F3DB3945-A020-4C86-AE45-190B2270395F.jpeg65F0D6C3-319B-498E-8BB6-8AC93D5FC4F0.jpegE9E0338E-4EC0-4AF6-B3C1-A3B7AAC85923.jpeg4DB81168-58C4-4377-BA6B-99B603419A3C.jpeg
F47D6D7E-2CB1-4F4F-B020-CAD8A8899C63.jpeg
Nice little haul today. All waiting on me when I got home. First up it’s a SP Tools 13500 pulley holding tool for Toyota. Bought this to hold the pulley on the Camry so the bolts don’t come loose again. Then a set of Capri metric low profile impact sockets 1/2 drive. I got these because they are handy but also because I feel the stubby 19 will help with the belt tensioner and give me more access to work with when putting the belt on as it was a pain last time. The 18mm wrench I got just to have as I don’t have many 18mm anything lol. And the Escape will need some suspension work soon so I will need that and I always like to have an extra and I only found one at the house that I had except a ratchet wrench so I picked up an extra one to have plus I’ve wanted to try Capri wrenches. Then a 8 triple square for when I work on the Beetle this summer hopefully. Hopefully it will be up and running by then. You need the 8 triple square to take the CV axles off. And mine need to be at minimum rebooted but I’m probably going to replace them. I’ve had amazing luck with Capri bit sockets so buying this one gave no second thought. Very well made.

Next specialty tool I’m purchasing will be a ball joint press. I mainly need it for my Escape but will do good for work too. If anyone has any brand recommendations for that let me know. Not sure what to look for.
Ball Joint Press for me is 2 options. If money isn’t a concern, snap on all the way. On a budget, get the Astro.
 

bubinga

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 26, 2014
Messages
12,744
Location
Bridgeport Ohio. (Across River From Wheeling WV)
I don't get it either, most of my sockets are 12pt and most I bought 50 years ago and they still work fine. If it looks like I need to use a 6pt (stuck bolt or the use of an impact) then I do go that route without hesitation. One has to put things in context to understand.

50 years ago 12pt was the PRO line and 6pt was the "old school" line. Ratchets of 24T were the norm, a 36T ratchet was the fine tooth model. Since you only had 24T on the ratchet you used the 12pts of the socket as the way to get on bolt heads in tighter places. Today's ratchets are of course a much finer teeth count which generally negates the need for 12pt sockets except for places like the special bolts such as on aircraft engines. If you don't want or need a 12pt then don't buy it. Same for 8pt sockets of which I have several sets from people who didn't want them. They work great for taps and other square drive applications like pipe plugs. Yeah, I know I could have used a 12pt for that.
l don't "hate" them, but l did have a nut on the top of my trans mount, a new huskey 12 point was rounding on the 15 mm nut.
l had to borrow a 6 point from a neighbor, and that broke it loose just fine. Albeit the nut was rusty.
 

bubinga

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 26, 2014
Messages
12,744
Location
Bridgeport Ohio. (Across River From Wheeling WV)
F3DB3945-A020-4C86-AE45-190B2270395F.jpeg65F0D6C3-319B-498E-8BB6-8AC93D5FC4F0.jpegE9E0338E-4EC0-4AF6-B3C1-A3B7AAC85923.jpeg4DB81168-58C4-4377-BA6B-99B603419A3C.jpeg
F47D6D7E-2CB1-4F4F-B020-CAD8A8899C63.jpeg
Nice little haul today. All waiting on me when I got home. First up it’s a SP Tools 13500 pulley holding tool for Toyota. Bought this to hold the pulley on the Camry so the bolts don’t come loose again. Then a set of Capri metric low profile impact sockets 1/2 drive. I got these because they are handy but also because I feel the stubby 19 will help with the belt tensioner and give me more access to work with when putting the belt on as it was a pain last time. The 18mm wrench I got just to have as I don’t have many 18mm anything lol. And the Escape will need some suspension work soon so I will need that and I always like to have an extra and I only found one at the house that I had except a ratchet wrench so I picked up an extra one to have plus I’ve wanted to try Capri wrenches. Then a 8 triple square for when I work on the Beetle this summer hopefully. Hopefully it will be up and running by then. You need the 8 triple square to take the CV axles off. And mine need to be at minimum rebooted but I’m probably going to replace them. I’ve had amazing luck with Capri bit sockets so buying this one gave no second thought. Very well made.

Next specialty tool I’m purchasing will be a ball joint press. I mainly need it for my Escape but will do good for work too. If anyone has any brand recommendations for that let me know. Not sure what to look for.
Are those Capri impacts extra stubby, or shorter than normal shortwell sockets?
 

Squankum

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 28, 2011
Messages
7,721
Location
Southeast
Next specialty tool I’m purchasing will be a ball joint press. I mainly need it for my Escape but will do good for work too. If anyone has any brand recommendations for that let me know. Not sure what to look for.

I vote for OTC 7249, which they had offshored but now make in the USA again. The Snap On is better, but... you know. The usual price/quality issue. OTC's is good stuff.

Of course, the first question is -- what tools are other people using to do ball joints on your vehicle? Bolted in? Pressed in? Replace A-arm? C clamp style or hydraulic press? etc etc.

I like that pin spanner. Always a fan of Schley tools.
 

mikeinri

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 29, 2019
Messages
8,240
Location
MA
We had a *plumber* in a while back to fix a dripping shower. He couldn't remove the valves because he didn't know righty tighty/lefty loosy*. While he was making a complete *** of the job he managed to tighten the valve cover doohickey onto the valve & jam the jam nut into the cover.
Luckily he went off to buy a new valve** (after digging out the packing washer in the valve with a screwdriver) & while he was gone I removed both valves, changed out the washers & got the drip fixed.
Needed the Irwin to get the jam nut out of the cover... which also involved using those spiffy Japanese soft-jaw slip joint pliers I bought a couple of weeks back.

* At one point his helper said "no turn it the other way" so this specimen turned his ChannelLocks from the jaws facing left to facing right & continued to tighten the valve... I had to walk away.

** He was gone for 5 hours, Lowes is 2 miles away. Roomie called his gf (her hairdresser) & she couldn't get hold of him either. He eventually showed up with a new packing washer & said he'd been to another job about 25 miles to the North in the next county & then onto another job in the next town to the South about 10 miles away before coming back with the part he unnecessarily destroyed... So there's a good chance he fucked up three separate jobs in one afternoon across two counties.

The reason he was called in is because I'm dealing with a separated bone graft in my right wrist so can't get too carried away turning things.. & yet I still got the job done while he was AWOL. Actually bent an 18 x 3/8in piece of round steel bar in the valve socket undoing the valve he spent 10 minutes trying to *loosen*.

Anywho, even though the washers were changed & the drip fixed, the valves still aren't *right* & two new ones will be fitted in the next few hours/two weeks (depending on when I decide to turn the water off for a few minutes)

THANK YOU for further vindicating my decision to DIY. Glad you got it (mostly) fixed, good luck finishing, and hope your wrist heals well (and soon)!



I'm old. I don't know if people still do that. Is that what the kids do no? Run around, snort cocaine, and overtighten plumbing fixtures?

Apparently...


Mike
 

mikeinri

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 29, 2019
Messages
8,240
Location
MA
I picked up about a dozen odds and ends on our little trip to the Liberty Tool Company in Liberty, ME on Sunday, which I'm sure must be familiar to a number of folks on this forum. Anyway, I thought a few of those items might be worth posting.

For starters, here's a vintage J. T. Slocomb 1-to-2-inch micrometer. I paid $8.50 for it, and other than some worn paint, it was in near-mint condition. It was smooth and snug all the way through its range, and the clever little thread wear compensator feature (which appears to be described in their 1896 patent), was still on its original setting, with no apparent play in the threads.

I carefully cleaned, stripped, and repainted it, then lubed it and checked it against a 1" gauge block at stabilized room temperature. It was still right on the money, so no need to get out the little spanner wrench to adjust it. I'm not sure of its age, but from a few catalogs I found, I 'think' it was probably made somewhere between 1903 and 1914. It also has their friction-stop feature to limit the pressure that can be applied to the anvil or work.

micrometer-1-2-inch-smaller-image.jpg

You can't have too many micrometers, can you? :rolleyes:

1896 Patent: https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/pdfs/US559820.pdf

You ****!!! I'd love to have one of those, especially from RI. Brown and Sharpe is the big RI name in precision tools that everyone thinks of, I love seeing others.

Mike
 

BlakeTheCarGuy

ALLIANCE MEMBER
Joined
Oct 10, 2018
Messages
9,373
Location
Roanoke Virginia
Are those Capri impacts extra stubby, or shorter than normal shortwell sockets?
They are stubby for 1/2 but I’d call them more of just short well sockets compared to others of this drive size. I forgot to take a picture of two side by side (regular vs these( but I’d say they are about 75% height of the normal sockets if not more but not completely the same.
 

Tomstir

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 29, 2014
Messages
70
I picked up these Craftsman V-series flush cut diagonal pliers from Lowe’s. It isn’t stamped or laser marked on the tool, but the package stated Made in France.

857069F1-095E-4AFA-B06C-281020B2AADE.jpeg

And and also met up with my Snap-on dealer for more goodies
D1835BCE-31CF-43B6-8696-AE9B57BB6A16.jpeg
What is that air tool with the wire rings and weird orange/yellow wheel?
 

M635_Guy

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 5, 2019
Messages
4,335
Location
NC
We had a *plumber* in a while back to fix a dripping shower. He couldn't remove the valves because he didn't know righty tighty/lefty loosy*. While he was making a complete *** of the job he managed to tighten the valve cover doohickey onto the valve & jam the jam nut into the cover.
Luckily he went off to buy a new valve** (after digging out the packing washer in the valve with a screwdriver) & while he was gone I removed both valves, changed out the washers & got the drip fixed.
Needed the Irwin to get the jam nut out of the cover... which also involved using those spiffy Japanese soft-jaw slip joint pliers I bought a couple of weeks back.

* At one point his helper said "no turn it the other way" so this specimen turned his ChannelLocks from the jaws facing left to facing right & continued to tighten the valve... I had to walk away.

** He was gone for 5 hours, Lowes is 2 miles away. Roomie called his gf (her hairdresser) & she couldn't get hold of him either. He eventually showed up with a new packing washer & said he'd been to another job about 25 miles to the North in the next county & then onto another job in the next town to the South about 10 miles away before coming back with the part he unnecessarily destroyed... So there's a good chance he fucked up three separate jobs in one afternoon across two counties.

The reason he was called in is because I'm dealing with a separated bone graft in my right wrist so can't get too carried away turning things.. & yet I still got the job done while he was AWOL. Actually bent an 18 x 3/8in piece of round steel bar in the valve socket undoing the valve he spent 10 minutes trying to *loosen*.

Anywho, even though the washers were changed & the drip fixed, the valves still aren't *right* & two new ones will be fitted in the next few hours/two weeks (depending on when I decide to turn the water off for a few minutes)
The guy who put in the sink for the kitchen in my house was an absolute hack - multiple unnecessary diameters of pipe, strange routing and the p-trap was installed backwards. I put in a new sink with a single drain, and I knew something looked wrong, but I couldn't tell what the hell I was looking at. I kept trying different pieces until finally ran into a Lowes employee who was a retired 40-year plumber. He looked at the pix I'd taken for reference, laughed a little and said "You live in [XYZ neighborhood], don't you?" I guess my jaw dropped, and he said "We've seen a lot of folks with this guy's work. I have no idea who he is, but he ain't a plumber!" and then proceeded to show me what I needed to do to correct his idiocy/incompetence.
how do you like the Carlyle bit ratchet? Worth the cost? Thinking about getting one...
I assume you're asking me. I grabbed it when it was on monthly special a while back. Overall I like it - awfully handy to have a roto-head to go with a good bit set. It feels better than the roto ratchets I tried from them previously (and returned). It's a bit of a tall profile, so it's not going into tight spots, which is one of the reasons I love my new Icon set that includes a flex-head bit ratchet. Combined with the Carlyle roto, I'm pretty happy with my setup.

[I just looked, and NAPA wants $67 for it on sale, which I can't say is worth it - I think I paid something like $28 for it. Snap on is $161 though. Honestly, I'm puzzled at those prices]
 

turner66

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 29, 2016
Messages
122
Location
Texas
BlakeTheCarGuy said:
Next specialty tool I’m purchasing will be a ball joint press. I mainly need it for my Escape but will do good for work too. If anyone has any brand recommendations for that let me know. Not sure what to look for.


I vote for OTC 7249, which they had offshored but now make in the USA again. The Snap On is better, but... you know. The usual price/quality issue. OTC's is good stuff.

Of course, the first question is -- what tools are other people using to do ball joints on your vehicle? Bolted in? Pressed in? Replace A-arm? C clamp style or hydraulic press? etc etc.

I like that pin spanner. Always a fan of Schley tools.
I agree, short of Snap-On either OTC or Astro Pneumatic are both good. If you're doing trucks, the Astro Pneumatic Goliath is in some cases very helpful...
 

Buckgnarly

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 8, 2010
Messages
7,653
Location
VT
BlakeTheCarGuy said:
Next specialty tool I’m purchasing will be a ball joint press. I mainly need it for my Escape but will do good for work too. If anyone has any brand recommendations for that let me know. Not sure what to look for.



I agree, short of Snap-On either OTC or Astro Pneumatic are both good. If you're doing trucks, the Astro Pneumatic Goliath is in some cases very helpful...
X2 on Goliath. Saved my but on a 04 GMC 3500 Svannah.
 

setfocus

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 15, 2020
Messages
413
Location
rust belt
Next specialty tool I’m purchasing will be a ball joint press. I mainly need it for my Escape but will do good for work too. If anyone has any brand recommendations for that let me know. Not sure what to look for.

FYI I've seen replacement press-in ball joints fall out of the old boxy Escapes more than once. You may just want to replace the whole arm. If you decide to stick with just the ball joint, I'd hit it with lock-tite on the splines.

I've got the snapon press, it's worth it, if used a fair amount imo

Matco has that press that doesn't use a C-frame but seems bulky, like it wouldn't fit in places, never used or handled one.

OTC also has a new model with snap in cups, also never used/handled.

Everyone makes an older OTC style press, it does the job. If going this route, I would probably get the Astro brand myself
 
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!
Top Bottom